VibeFox Bob Go for OpenCart — Help

Requirements

OpenCart: 3.0.x (tested on 3.0.5.0) or 4.0.2 and later (tested on 4.1.0.3).

PHP: 8.0 or later.

Bob Go account (for live rates only): Bob Go has no API keys. You need a Bob Go account (bobgo.co.za), your store installed as a WooCommerce sales channel in your Bob Go account (Sales channels) and "Rates at checkout" enabled for that channel. Services, prices and rules are configured on Bob Go. If you only use fixed prices, you do not need a Bob Go account.

VibeFox license key: bought on vibefox.net. One key works on one domain.

Installation

The download is one zip file with the packages for both OpenCart versions. Unpack it on your computer. It contains README.txt, the OpenCart 3 package vfd_bob_go-oc3-(version).ocmod.zip and the OpenCart 4 package vfd_bob_go.ocmod.zip. Install only the package for your OpenCart version. The license key is the same for both versions.

OpenCart 3

1. In the admin go to Extensions > Installer, click Upload and choose the file vfd_bob_go-oc3-(version).ocmod.zip. The extension adds no OCMOD modifications, so you do not need to refresh Extensions > Modifications. Instead of the Installer, you can copy the contents of the upload folder of the package into the root folder of your store.

2. Go to Extensions > Extensions and choose the extension type Shipping. Find VibeFox Bob Go and click Install (the green + button).

3. Click Edit (the pencil button) to open the settings page.

4. Paste your VibeFox license key into License key in the license block at the top of the Edit page and click Activate (see License key).

5. In your Bob Go account, install your store as a sales channel. Enable "Rates at checkout" for that channel and set up your services and prices.

6. On the Edit page check the store domain, the origin (ship from) address and, if your store currency is not ZAR, the ZAR conversion rate (see Configuration). Turn on Enable Bob Go and click Save.

OpenCart 4

1. In the admin go to Extensions > Installer, click Upload and choose the file vfd_bob_go.ocmod.zip. Do not rename the file: OpenCart 4 takes the extension code from the file name, and a renamed package does not work.

2. The package appears in the list of installed extensions on the same page. Click Install (the green + button) next to it.

3. Go to Extensions > Extensions and choose the type Shipping. Find VibeFox Bob Go, click Install (the green + button), then Edit (the pencil button).

4. Set up Bob Go, enter the license key and the settings as in steps 4 to 6 for OpenCart 3. The settings page and its fields are the same in both versions.

After install the method is off until you turn on Enable Bob Go and save. By default it uses live Bob Go rates. If you install the extension again after an uninstall, the Bob Go settings you kept are used again.

Configuration

All settings are on the extension page: Extensions > Extensions > Shipping > VibeFox Bob Go > Edit. The sections are listed on the left. One Save button saves the whole page without reloading it. Every save also clears the cached Bob Go rates. Numbers accept a point or a comma as the decimal separator. If a value is wrong, nothing is saved and the page shows the reason: an empty Method title or one longer than 64 characters, a value that is not a number ("…" must be a number.), a negative amount or weight ("…" must be a number of 0 or more.), a ZAR conversion rate of 0 or less, a Minimum weight (kg) above the Maximum weight (kg), or an unknown tax class or geo zone. Only admin users with the modify permission for this extension can save the settings.

Above the settings the page warns when live rates cannot work: Live rates are not requested: your store currency is … — set the "ZAR conversion rate"., when South Africa has no zones (provinces) in your store, or when the store has no weight class with the unit "kg" or no length class with the unit "cm". In the last case weights and dimensions are converted by the unit name of their class (kg, g, lb, oz; cm, mm, m, in), and other units are read as kg or cm.

General

The settings apply to every geo zone. At checkout every Bob Go service is its own delivery option under the method title.

Enable Bob Go: shows or hides Bob Go at checkout. Default: off.

Method title: the shipping method name shown to the customer. The Bob Go services, for example "The Courier Guy - Economy", are listed under it with the names from Bob Go. Default: Bob Go. Required, at most 64 characters.

Shipping cost: how the price is calculated.

The reason for missing live rates is written to the log. It is never shown to the customer.

Sort order: the position of Bob Go among the shipping methods at checkout. A whole number.

Bob Go account

This section explains what you need on Bob Go, with links to your Bob Go account, Sales channels and Rates at checkout. It also shows the last response from Bob Go for your store domain: connected, the WooCommerce channel is not installed on Bob Go (HTTP 404), "Rates at checkout" is not enabled for this channel (HTTP 401 or 403), or request failed with the error code or no connection.

Store domain: Bob Go identifies your store by its domain. Leave it empty to use your store domain, which is shown in the field description. Enter another domain only if your channel on Bob Go is installed under a different address, for example example.co.za/shop for a store in a subfolder. The scheme and a trailing slash are removed.

ZAR conversion rate: Bob Go quotes in South African rand (ZAR). If your store default currency is not ZAR, enter how much 1 ZAR is in your currency, for example 0.05. Rates are converted with it and product prices are sent to Bob Go in ZAR. Leave it empty to not use live Bob Go rates in your currency (fixed prices still work). The rate must be greater than 0. If your store currency is ZAR, leave it empty.

Delivery dates: shows the estimated delivery date range from Bob Go next to each service at checkout. The estimate is always saved with the order and visible on the order page.

Ship from (origin address)

The origin address is sent to Bob Go with every rate request. The OpenCart store address is free text, so only the country and region of your store (System > Settings > Store > Local) are used: if the store country is the origin country, an empty province is taken from the store region. Enter the city, postal code and street here.

Origin country: the country you ship from. Default: South Africa. Bob Go ships within South Africa.

Origin province: a South African province, or Store region (if in South Africa).

Origin city / suburb: the city or suburb you ship from, for example Johannesburg.

Origin postal code: the postal code you ship from, for example 2001.

Origin street address: the street address you ship from, for example 123 Main Street.

Fixed prices (used when Shipping cost is Fixed prices (below), and as the fallback when Bob Go returns no rates)

Price per country: one line per country: a 2-letter country code, an equals sign and the price in your store default currency, tax excluded, for example ZA=99.99. Use * for all other countries, for example *=199.99 on the next line. Lines in another format are removed when you save, and the page lists them in a warning.

Flat price: the price for countries without a line above. Leave it empty to hide the method for them.

Fixed price applies: Per order (default) charges the price once. Per item (price × quantity) multiplies it by the number of items in the cart. Live Bob Go rates are always for the whole shipment.

Conditions

Minimum weight (kg): hide the method below this cart weight. 0 means no limit (default).

Maximum weight (kg): hide the method above this cart weight. 0 means no limit (default).

Minimum order amount: show the method only when the subtotal of the products that need shipping (after the coupon, before tax) is at least this amount. Leave it empty to always show it.

Free shipping: turn on free shipping when the order amount below is reached.

Free shipping from: the subtotal of the products that need shipping (after the coupon, before tax) for free shipping. Used only when Free shipping is on. Bob Go is not asked for rates then.

Tax class: the tax class of the shipping cost, or No tax (default). Bob Go rates usually already include VAT. In that case keep No tax so tax is not charged on shipping twice.

Geo zone: offer Bob Go only for addresses in this geo zone. All zones (default) means no limit. Not used when Ignore shipping zones is on. Geo zones are managed in System > Localisation > Geo Zones.

Availability without shipping zones

Ignore shipping zones: when on, the geo zone is not checked and the method is offered for the countries below.

Countries: the destination countries for that mode. Leave it empty to allow all countries. Only used when Ignore shipping zones is on.

Advanced

Debug log: writes rate calculations and Bob Go requests to storage/logs/vfd_bobg_debug.log.php. The file cannot be read from the web. Customer addresses are not logged. Bob Go errors are logged even when this is off. Turn the log off when you are done. When the file reaches 5 MB, it is moved to vfd_bobg_debug.old.log.php and a new log is started.

Log: shows the size and the latest entries of the log. Click Clear log to empty it.

Remove data on uninstall: when on, uninstalling the extension deletes the Bob Go settings, cached rates and logs. The Bob Go service saved with orders is kept. When off (default), everything is kept for a re-install.

Import / Export

Export: click Download JSON to save the settings as a JSON file.

Import: paste previously exported JSON and click Import to restore the settings, for example on another store. The values are checked like a normal save.

How it works at checkout

When OpenCart shows the shipping methods, it asks the extension for the Bob Go rates. If a Geo zone is set (and Ignore shipping zones is off) and the address is outside it, Bob Go is not offered. Only products with Requires Shipping set to Yes count: other products add no weight and are not included in the order amount. The extension then checks the destination country (with Ignore shipping zones), the cart weight and Minimum order amount. The order amount is the price of the products that need shipping, after the coupon discount and before tax. Gift certificates, reward points and store credit are not taken into account. If free shipping applies, the customer sees Bob Go (free) (your method title) and no request goes to Bob Go.

In the live modes the extension sends Bob Go your store domain, the origin and delivery addresses (with the province) and the cart items: product prices in ZAR, weights and dimensions, and the product model as the SKU. For South African addresses the OpenCart zone is sent as the province code (EC, FS, GP, KZN, LP, MP, NC, NW, WC). Live rates are requested only after the customer has entered a city or postal code. Rates in ZAR are converted with ZAR conversion rate when your store currency is not ZAR. The price is calculated in your default currency, rounded to its decimals, and shown to the customer in their currency with the tax of the selected Tax class.

Under the method title the customer sees one option per Bob Go service, with its name, price and, if Delivery dates is on, the estimated delivery dates in brackets. The customer picks a service like any other OpenCart shipping option. With a fixed price there is one option with the method title.

On OpenCart 4 the customer clicks Choose in the shipping method block of the checkout page and picks a Bob Go service in the window Shipping method options, for example SkyNet - Overnight (by 17/10/2026) with its price. The method works the same way as on OpenCart 3.

Rates are cached for 1 hour per full request, so the same cart does not trigger a new request. A failed request is cached for 5 minutes, and the timeout is 12 seconds, so a Bob Go outage does not slow down every checkout update. A failed request never breaks the checkout: the method is hidden, or the fixed price is used in the fallback mode. The reason goes to the log.

The extension shows rates only. It does not create shipments, waybills or labels, track parcels, sync orders to Bob Go or send notifications. Use the Bob Go dashboard for fulfilment. It has no pickup point or locker selection. Bob Go ships within South Africa only.

Orders

The chosen service name is the shipping method of the order, so it appears in the order e-mails, in Sales > Orders and in the customer's account. When the order is placed, the Bob Go service, its code and the delivery estimate are also saved with the order. Later changes to the cart or to Bob Go prices do not change them. On OpenCart 4 the checkout keeps one order: if the customer goes back and confirms the order again with another Bob Go service, the saved service is updated, and with another shipping method or a fixed price it is removed.

In the admin the order page in Sales > Orders shows a Bob Go block with Bob Go service (name and code) and Estimated delivery. The customer sees Bob Go service and Estimated delivery on the order details page in their account. Orders with a fixed price or free shipping have no Bob Go service.

License key

The extension works with a VibeFox license key from vibefox.net. The license block License — VibeFox Bob Go is the first block on Extensions > Extensions > Shipping > VibeFox Bob Go > Edit, above the settings. Paste the key into License key and click Activate. After that the block shows the key masked, the status (for example the date the license is active until and your domain) and the buttons Check now to check the status again, Change key to enter another key and Remove key to remove the key from this store. Below them are the line Product: opencart-shipping-bob-go and the link Manage licenses and domains in your account, which opens your vibefox.net account. Only admin users with the Modify permission for the extension can change the key. The texts of the block follow the admin language (English and Russian are included).

If the key is not accepted, the block says why, for example Key not found, This key belongs to another product, Domain limit reached or License expired on a date. After the store address changes, or after you free a domain slot in your account, click Check now. If the license server cannot be reached, the extension keeps working on the last known status.

One key works on one domain: the store address from the OpenCart configuration. Removing the key from the store does not free its domain slot. Free the slot in your vibefox.net account.

Without an active key, Bob Go is not shown to customers at checkout and no rate is calculated. An admin user who is logged in to the admin in the same browser still sees the method in the store, marked (unlicensed — visible to admins only), so you can set up and test the extension before you buy a key. On OpenCart 4 this preview is not available: the store does not see the admin login, so without an active key the method is hidden for everybody. After you have opened the Edit page once, a reminder appears on the admin Dashboard. Close it with × to hide it for 7 days. Existing orders are not affected.

When a license expires, the extension keeps working, but updates and support need a renewal. The status is checked again automatically when you open the admin Dashboard or the Edit page: once a day for the first 14 days after the key is entered, then once a week. No cron job is needed. Uninstalling the extension always removes the license key and license status.

Troubleshooting

Bob Go does not appear at checkout: check that the license is active and Enable Bob Go is on. Check Geo zone, or turn on Ignore shipping zones and check Countries. Check the weight limits and Minimum order amount. In the fixed mode, check that the country, * or Flat price has a price. Check that the products have Requires Shipping set to Yes.

No Bob Go rates are shown: open the extension page. The Bob Go account section shows the last response from Bob Go. "The WooCommerce channel is not installed on Bob Go" (HTTP 404) means the store domain is not a sales channel on Bob Go: check Store domain. "Rates at checkout is not enabled" (HTTP 401) means the feature is off for the channel. Also make sure the customer has entered a city or postal code and, for non-ZAR stores, that ZAR conversion rate is set. Turn on Debug log, reload the checkout and look at the Log field. With Bob Go live rates, fixed prices if Bob Go returns no rates customers still get the fixed price while you fix the problem.

My store is not in rand: Bob Go quotes in ZAR. Enter how much 1 ZAR is in your store currency. Without it the extension does not ask Bob Go for rates. Fixed prices still work.

The page warns that South Africa has no zones: add the provinces of South Africa in System > Localisation > Zones, otherwise Bob Go gets no province for South African addresses.

Tax is charged twice on shipping: Bob Go rates normally include VAT. Set Tax class to No tax.

Rates look outdated after a change: click Save on the extension page. This clears the cached Bob Go rates. Changes in your Bob Go account are picked up after the 1-hour cache or when you save the settings.

The page says "Warning: You do not have permission to modify VibeFox Bob Go!": your admin user group may only view the settings. Give the group the modify permission for extension/shipping/vfd_bob_go (OpenCart 3) or extension/vfd_bob_go/shipping/vfd_bob_go (OpenCart 4) in System > Users > User Groups.

For developers: the Bob Go API address can be replaced with the setting vfd_bobg_api_url (for tests); it has no field on the settings page.

Uninstall

Go to Extensions > Extensions, choose the type Shipping and click Uninstall (the red − button) next to VibeFox Bob Go. The license key and license status of this extension are always removed. OpenCart always resets Enable Bob Go, Sort order, Tax class and Geo zone. The cached rates are always removed. If Remove data on uninstall is on, the Bob Go settings and the log are deleted as well. If it is off, the other settings are kept and are used again when you install the extension again. The Bob Go service saved with orders is always kept, and existing orders keep their shipping method and cost.

On OpenCart 4, to remove the files of the extension as well, go to Extensions > Installer after the uninstall and click Uninstall (the orange − button) next to VibeFox Bob Go in the list of installed extensions, then Delete (the red bin button) to remove the uploaded package.

Bob Go is a trademark of its respective owner. This extension is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bob Go.